ANKENY, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors say a man charged with vehicular homicide in a fatal November crash near Ankeny was speeding and talking on his cellphone at the time of the crash. Television station KCCI reports that 51-year-old Aaron Lehman, of Polk City, was driving a pickup truck 20 mph over the posted 55 mph speed limit when he rear-ended a car Nov. 25 on a highway north of Ankeny.

A passenger in the car, 55-year-old Tracy Gugger of Ankeny, died at the scene. Lehman has pleaded not guilty homicide by vehicle while driving recklessly. He is free on $10,000 bond and is set to appear in court Jan. 30.

(Audubon) — Hundreds of thousands of Iowans expected to make their voices heard on February 3rd. Election officials in Audubon County say there will be two caucus locations for the Democrat Caucus: Precinct 1 (basically Northern half of the county) is the Audubon Elementary School, 600 Tracy Street. Precinct 2 (basically Southern half, including Kimballton) is the Exira Event Center, 106 N Jefferson Street. The Republican Caucus will be held for Precinct 1, at the Audubon High School. Precinct 2 will meet at the Exira School.

Doors open at 6:00 and close at 7:00. No one is permitted into the building after 7:00. Anyone needing a ride to a caucus site is invited to visit the Audubon County Democrats Facebook page. Click on the Community tab and scroll to the application. Anyone willing to provide rides are also encouraged to visit this site to volunteer to pick up their neighbors who need rides. We encourage high school students to attend caucuses in their precincts.

Anyone turning 18 before November 3rd may participate in the caucus. Those students not eligible to caucus may observe the process.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what caused a University of Iowa research drone to crash in a mobile home park near the Iowa City Municipal Airport. It came down Dec. 18 next to one of the homes, strewing shattered parts nearby but striking no one. The university reported that the 100-pound aircraft became unresponsive before crashing. The professor who was remotely operating it has declined to comment until the investigation is completed. The Gazette reported that the drone was bought for $300,000 in 2018. It has an 18-foot wingspan.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship report an insect that kills ash trees has been confirmed for the first time, in Audubon and Guthrie Counties. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) larvae were collected from infested trees in rural Exira and Casey. The invasive, tree-killing pest has been found in 71 Iowa counties since 2010. EAB is a small, metallic-green beetle that attacks and kills ash tree species. In its larval stage, EAB bores beneath the bark disrupting the movement of water and nutrients within the tree.  Infested trees typically die within two to four years.

Ash trees infested with EAB might include canopy thinning, woodpecker damage, water sprouts from the trunk or main branches, serpentine (“S”-shaped)  galleries under the bark, vertical bark splitting and 1/8-inch D-shaped exit holes. Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship EAB coordinator, says “Woodpeckers like to eat EAB larvae beneath the bark of ash trees. Despite it being winter, woodpecker damage is an indicator EAB may be lurking in a tree.” The adult beetle can spread naturally by flying short distances to area host trees; however, the more threatening long-distance spread is by human-assisted movement. Beneath the bark, larvae can unknowingly be transported in infested wood products such as firewood. People are encouraged to use locally-sourced firewood where they are going to burn it.

The entire state of Iowa is under quarantine for EAB. A federal quarantine, enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prohibits the movement of regulated articles such as living and dead material from ash trees and all hardwood firewood out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states. At this calendar date, the window for all preventive treatments is closed. If a landowner is interested in protecting a valuable and healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation, he or she should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work, review the bids this winter and begin treating in spring 2020 (early April to mid-May).

To learn more about EAB and to view known locations in Iowa, please visit http://www.iowatreepests.com.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office says two people, including a juvenile, were injured during a single-vehicle accident Wednesday night, about two-miles southwest of Clarinda. Authorities report 19-year old Austin Tyler Laythe, of Villisca, was driving a 2006 Ford Ranger westbound in the 2700 block of 230th Street at around 9:15-p.m., when his pickup lost traction on the slush / snow covered roadway.

Laythe over corrected while trying to regain control of the vehicle, but it entered the north ditch and struck a fence post in the ditch before rolling onto it’s side coming to rest. Laythe and a juvenile female passenger were transported to Clarinda Regional Health Center by Clarinda Ambulance service for treatment of unknown injuries. Damage to the Ford Ranger was estimated at $8,000. No charges have been filed.

(Radio Iowa) — The forecast calls for plenty of snow to fly over the next few days, but thousands of Iowans will be thinking of sunny, summer days ahead as they attend one of the biggest one-day bicycling shows in the  “You’re going to see bikes, gear, destinations and events,” Wyatt says. “Really, people come there shopping for their summer. If you want to check out what the latest trail is, if you want to check out what the bike shops have as far as new gear to offer, this is the event for you.”

If you’re shopping for a new bike, whether it’s a traditional two-wheel road bike, recumbent, tandem or electric, Wyatt says there will easily be hundreds of options. “There’s a bike demo area,” Wyatt says. “We’ve got four or five vendors who will let you take a bike over and give it a short ride, right in front of the events center on the floor, so that’ll be pretty cool.”

There will be educational seminars to help riders get in touch with bike advocacy, a legal workshop, and new product launches at the event. While Iowa has hundreds of miles of paved trails, the expo features representatives from a host of “destination” bike rides in other states, including Minnesota and Kentucky. “There’s a lot of interest in the Iowa bicycling community,” Wyatt says. “Certainly, they see it as economic development that they can import to their states. We know that we’ve got to continue to develop that economic impact on bicycling here in Iowa.”

The Iowa Bike Expo is free and runs Saturday from 10 AM to 4:30 PM at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
More info. at https://iowabikeexpo.com/

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) — A new report from the Iowa Association of Realtors shows the state’s real estate market wrapped up 2019 with sales up — and prices up — compared to the year before. Association president Scott Wendl, a realtor in Clive, says more than 42-thousand-200 homes were sold statewide last year. That’s up about 500 homes from the previous year. “Home sales were up a little bit, actually 1.2%,” Wendl says, “and the nice byproduct of that also is the actual sales price went up almost 5%.”

The median home sales price last year was 168-thousand-500 dollars compared to about eight-thousand dollars lower in 2018. “One nice thing about the state of Iowa is, we are still one of the most affordable areas in the United States to purchase a home,” Wendl says. “A lot of that is just the cost of living is lower which reflects to a better median sales price compared to some of the other markets around the country.” The median sale price for single-family homes was higher each month in 2019 when compared to the same month in 2018. “With the interest rates still low, it is still driving prices up a little bit,” Wendl says. “Inventory is a little bit tight, especially in the first-time buyer price range. If you’re looking in the upper price range, inventory is a lot better. There’s more to choose from.”

Houses sold quickly in 2019 with an average of 63 days on the market. That’s two days faster than in 2018. Wendl, in his 24th year as a realtor, is optimistic looking ahead into 2020. “I’ve got a positive feeling about it. I know there’s rumors of a recession, but indications for housing isn’t really pointed towards that,” Wendl says. “With the election year, interest rates are predicted to stay relatively flat, where they are right now.”

New construction rose during 2019 and it’s expected to continue rising into 2020, although many experts say new homes aren’t being built quickly enough to meet demand. The year is starting out with brisk sales as he says realtors he’s talked with are experiencing a much busier January than is typical.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) – A board of supervisors in southeast Iowa has voted to forgo pay raises in the next budget year, citing budget constraints. The Fort Madison Daily Democrat reports that the Lee County supervisors voted Tuesday to pass on the 3% pay increase recommended by the county compensation board or accept the 2% hike that was included in the preliminary 2020-21 budget. Board Chairman Ron Fedler says he’d like the money to go to Lee County’s five libraries, adding that libraries benefit everyone. Directors of the five public libraries asked supervisors for an additional $10,000 in county funding at the board’s Jan. 14 meeting. The five libraries got $2,000 each from the county in the last budget.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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